Cooked Headlamp Harness

[Travex]

Good job quantifying things! Even better questions. ::008::

 

[Obrianmcc]

Looks like I might be the next with harness issues.... found my right side bulb not working this afternoon... popped the cap and found some pretty discolored wires... notice no Blue/Brown .... more like a very faint Lt Blue/White. There is also a white coating on the inside of the cap.

The bike's a 2012 purchased new last Sept .... shortly after I found this thread and as a preventative I removed the plastic connector caps while
at the same time tightening the connectors for hopes of an improved connection to the bulb .... guess it didn't work.

Hello dealer back I come......

I paid my dealer a visit today to show them what I found upon removing the cap.... they did agree that upon visual inspection something did not look right. They are contacting Yamaha regarding the issue and I have full confidence that my harness will be replaced.

They claimed to not be aware of the issue and that they had (to date) received no notices from Yamaha, which did not suprise me. I would expect that since this is not really a safety issue that Yamaha will deal with each of us on a case by case basis.... my hope is that the harnesses being received from Japan will hopefully at some point be corrected.

My guess is that there are a lot of bikes running around with slow cooked wiring... each will expire at varying times. For most I would expect that they would never even look behind the cap until a bulb burns out...... on the plus side.... I have yet to experience a hard start!

 

[Travex]

Good points there and good luck with your repair. However, I disagree with you on this not being a safety issue. While not airbags or bumpers they do light our paths and let other know of our presence... Both indispensable attributes.

 

[Obrianmcc]

........ ::008::

Agreed ... I would much prefer to have all front illumination in working order!

 

[cb0802]

Initial visit went well and the service tech was much more helpful in person than on the phone. He took pics and spent time explaining similar issues with the R1.

 

[bob dirt]

I tried reading all 44 pages...but then just started skipping around.

If it has not been mentioned yet...
If your plug has been overheated, then your male connector of your bulb has possibly been overheated also. If the male plug on the bulb is discolored and you replace just the female part, you will more than likely have problems again in the future because the connection will not be tight enough. Loose connection at the plug is the culprit and was probably caused by replacing burned bulbs, adding aftermarket bulbs, or in most cases here, just not tight enough to start with. Adding after market bulbs or replacing burned ones is not the problem, but not making sure the female clips were tight enough is. 12 volt DC with a 5 amp load only requires #18 wire in this short distance. The wire size is adequate. The connection must start out as tight as possible. It could have been the technician at the factory messing around too long trying to install the plug or the tolerances to loose on the female portion to start with.
I finally checked mine on my 2012 that I bought used and both plugs were very tight. I bent the tabs closer before I re-installed the plugs just to make sure they were tight again after installation. This will be a regular service check for me during oil changes and sometimes on pre-ride inspection.

...again, this is just my opinion. As others would say...YMMV

 

[Obrianmcc]

I tried reading all 44 pages...but then just started skipping around.

If it has not been mentioned yet...
If your plug has been overheated, then your male connector of your bulb has possibly been overheated also. If the male plug on the bulb is discolored and you replace just the female part, you will more than likely have problems again in the future because the connection will not be tight enough. Loose connection at the plug is the culprit and was probably caused by replacing burned bulbs, adding aftermarket bulbs, or in most cases here, just not tight enough to start with. Adding after market bulbs or replacing burned ones is not the problem, but not making sure the female clips were tight enough is. 12 volt DC with a 5 amp load only requires #18 wire in this short distance. The wire size is adequate. The connection must start out as tight as possible. It could have been the technician at the factory messing around too long trying to install the plug or the tolerances to loose on the female portion to start with.
I finally checked mine on my 2012 that I bought used and both plugs were very tight. I bent the tabs closer before I re-installed the plugs just to make sure they were tight again after installation. This will be a regular service check for me during oil changes and sometimes on pre-ride inspection.

...again, this is just my opinion. As others would say...YMMV

IMO this is more of a pure heat issue off the bulb .... I removed the plastic connectors completely last year and at the same time re-crimped the connectors so that I had to work the connectors onto the bulb spades. Wires looked pretty good at that time, but now they are pretty well cooked (Both sides). My dealer jumped right on this and had a response back from Yamaha within a couple of hrs... they asked for pictures and my dealer is pushing for a ASAP replacement (of course they show as being back ordered), we did replace the bulb and it worked, so the harness connection is not dead and for now I have both lights working.

To be honest I haven't been on this thread for a awhile.... reading back through the last few months... it appears that re-wiring the connectors with a ceramic plug/high temp wire might be the solution? I ordered some H7 connectors last night so I will at least have them. I bet I could rewire the current loom and all would be good, but I'll let the warranty process run it's course...

 

[sail2xxs]

37.
That's the number of people on this thread that claim to have had the cooked harness problem (CHP ).
I went through every page of the thread to count them up. 3 people have had the problem twice, and three people have had lights go out but never reported the cause. It also appears that 2 riders have had the entire headlight assembly replaced (one in Italy and one in North America). I wasn't looking for that specifically, so may have missed one or two.
I go today to meet with my dealer. My initial phone call didn't go well, so I'm hoping a visit will help.
Statistically speaking, what’s the magic number required for Yamaha to address the issue? (that's a rhetorical question) And by “address the issue” I don’t mean a full recall. I simply mean that they report this as a potential problem via service bulletin?

I've had 4 harnesses replaced to date. The longest lasting harness had an extra ground wire running from the left headlight side to the battery added to it.

Chris

 

[cb0802]

I've had 4 harnesses replaced to date. The longest lasting harness had an extra ground wire running from the left headlight side to the battery added to it.

Chris

That puts it up to 39. I counted you twice in the original tally. I also found out today that mine will be replaced under warranty.
Congrats on the 100k!

 

[echo_four_romeo]

I've got an intermittent issue with my right headlight. The connector is not burnt or corroded. It had been burned out for 12 days and then randomly this morning it fired up as if there was no issue.

 

[Obrianmcc]

That puts it up to 39. I counted you twice in the original tally. I also found out today that mine will be replaced under warranty.
Congrats on the 100k!

That would be just the 39 that bother to follow/comment on this forum..... ::013::

 

[Combo]

I still think this is from a bad connection and heat build up at that connection only IMHO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=n_AG4NgRZtQ

 

[Mchaskell]

I took some readings today for fun. I do not have a certified lab quality non contact IR thermometer so these numbers my be suspect. If this is useful information it may be nice to have other individuals note their readings.

20 minute ride in 95 degree weather with the high beams on the entire trip.

Using an infrared thermometer (+-4 degrees Fahrenheit claimed accuracy) from 6-8 inches away, 3 minutes after shutdown (lamp covers left on until measurement):

The laser aimed on the Bulb connector ~ 146 degrees Fahrenheit
The laser aimed on the metal plate on the back of the bulb ~ 227 degrees Fahrenheit

 

[CDMartin884]

I think folks believe its a bad connection, but I dare say its simple corrosion. Even though the case is o-ring sealed, it's not exactly waterproof. I will explain, though it may be sealed from the outside, the bulb generates heat, heat inside creates condensation, though the condensation is minimal, it's enough to create moisture on the connectors, and that moisture turns to corrosion on the inside of the connector over time. That corrosion then causes less contact, which generates more heat, and gone unchecked will caused the current to heat the plastic , and melt it. Viola, you have a melted harness.

Simple solution, clean the connectors and apply dielectric grease.

I see it all the time with high output (Halogen) bulbs in non vacuum sealed environments.

 

[EricV]

I think folks believe its a bad connection, but I dare say its simple corrosion. Even though the case is o-ring sealed, it's not exactly waterproof. I will explain, though it may be sealed from the outside, the bulb generates heat, heat inside creates condensation, though the condensation is minimal, it's enough to create moisture on the connectors, and that moisture turns to corrosion on the inside of the connector over time. That corrosion then causes less contact, which generates more heat, and gone unchecked will caused the current to heat the plastic , and melt it. Viola, you have a melted harness.

Simple solution, clean the connectors and apply dielectric grease.

I see it all the time with high output (Halogen) bulbs in non vacuum sealed environments.

An interesting observation, but too many people have done just that, cleaned the connectors and applied dielectric grease, well prior to having the issues. I had no indications of melting or heat and did what you suggest at around 36k miles. At 48k miles I lost one light and found a melted connector. This is the only vehicle I've ever had a headlight connector melt on, but it's also the only vehicle I've had that used this particular type of hard plastic connector too. I simply changed to ceramic connectors and have not had further issues so far, now over 65k.

 

[twinrider]

This is the only vehicle I've ever had a headlight connector melt on, but it's also the only vehicle I've had that used this particular type of hard plastic connector too. I simply changed to ceramic connectors and have not had further issues so far, now over 65k.

A bit disconcerting though that this one has melted despite the lack of any plastic.

 

[EricV]

A bit disconcerting though that this one has melted despite the lack of any plastic.

While I would agree that there appears to be indication of heat affected wires in that photo, perhaps I missed if OBrianmcc mentioned if the bulb was actually burned out or not. Bulbs do die.

In my case, in ceramic connectors are an insulator at the connection. With no surrounding connector of any type, the heat from the bulb will be transferred more to the wires, I would think, than with some form of connector. IF the heat from the bulb is the issue, strait brass connectors might be worse than the oem connector in this case.

It's an interesting problem really. I've run much higher wattage halogen bulbs in sealed aux lights and never seen a melted plastic connector. I've seen melted wire insulation on too small of a gauge of wire for the draw. That was one of the early suspicions about this issue. And may still be true.

 

[twinrider]

Eric, would 35 watt HIDs run cooler than the stock 55W halogens?

 

[EricV]

Eric, would 35 watt HIDs run cooler than the stock 55W halogens?

It appears so. Physical heat off the bulb is less with HID and you're drawing less wattage thru the actual headlight wire harness since that becomes a trigger signal, not a bulb draw. The ballasts do create heat and should be placed where they get some cooling air flow, (ideally), but out of direct water paths (rain riding).

Most HID kits would end up with the oem connectors quite a bit down stream from the HID capsule/bulb. HID is sort of plasma under glass rather than a traditional filiment and more effecient in producing light than the halogen, as I understand the process.

 

[cb0802]

I just got a call from my dealer and the wiring harness is on back order. Projected delivery is 10 October. My left light is out and the connector has melted to the point that the plastic is stuck to the bulb. The right side shows no signs of melting but goes in and out randomly.
I leave for a 500 mile trip tomorrow so hope the left side is more on than off. I am planning on doing a saddle sore 1000 on my return but will have to reschedule if its not working.